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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks pull back after Friday's big rally

Xinhua, May 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended lower after volatile trading on Monday, as investors were looking for excuses to lock in gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 85.94 points, or 0. 47 percent, to 18,105.17. The S&P 500 dipped 10.77 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,105.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 9.98 points, or 0.20 percent, to 4,993.57.

With no major economic data or earnings reports due Monday, investors were still digesting Friday's jobs report, which showed that U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4 percent.

Traders believed Friday's jobs report was "Goldilocks." as it indicated growth in the U.S. economy but not enough to warrant the Federal Reserve moving up the timing of the first rate hike.

Overseas, China's central bank, the People's bank of China, on Sunday announced the third cut to interest rates since November, in a move aimed at bolstering the real economy. Following the cut Chinese Shanghai Composite Index romped more than 3 percent on Monday.

European shares declined as Greece concerns grew, with the French benchmark index CAC 40 dipping 1.23 percent.

The latest Eurogroup meeting in Brussels ended with no deal for the resolution of the Greek debt crisis on Monday, but a statement vaguely acknowledging progress and encouraging Athens to do more to reach a positive result soon.

The pressure on the Leftist Greek government in the meantime is mounting. The Greek national news agency cited government sources as saying the Finance Ministry ordered the payment of a 750 million euro (837 million U.S. dollars) installment to the International Monetary Fund due on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks soared with global shares on Friday, as investors cheered over the jobs report. Endite